Make Sure Your Baby Safety Products Are Safe
Plastic Outlet Covers
The risk: Outlet covers help prevent your child from getting electrocuted, but small plastic plug-in models can pose a deadly choking hazard. Even if the caps seem to fit snugly, they tend to loosen with use -- and a toddler could remove one and put it in her mouth. Safe strategy: Get covers that screw into the wall and slide shut when outlets aren't in use, or block unused outlets with furniture. The Home Safety Council recommends that if you use plug-in covers, you should look for ones that are too big to fit through a toilet-paper tube, or choose devices that you must twist or squeeze to remove.
The risk: Outlet covers help prevent your child from getting electrocuted, but small plastic plug-in models can pose a deadly choking hazard. Even if the caps seem to fit snugly, they tend to loosen with use -- and a toddler could remove one and put it in her mouth. Safe strategy: Get covers that screw into the wall and slide shut when outlets aren't in use, or block unused outlets with furniture. The Home Safety Council recommends that if you use plug-in covers, you should look for ones that are too big to fit through a toilet-paper tube, or choose devices that you must twist or squeeze to remove.
On November 11, 2010
